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The contrast between my extroverted social worker wife and my introverted engineer self could not be made more clear than when one of us travels, leaving the other behind. When I leave, she goes on outings with her friends. When she leaves, I find myself reading or experimenting with radios and computers.

The broadcasting technology world is quietly run by introverts like you and me. We tinkered with radios as teens, showed up at a local radio or TV station and eventually took a job caring for the equipment while others pursued the more social aspects of sales, news, and promotions.

While technical introverts should feel no shame in embracing our lonely preferences, I recommend taking inventory of how your behavior may be limiting your career and ultimately a more full life. If you are not networking with other engineers, vendors, and broadcast managers, you are in danger of being left in the cold when looking for a new job, in line for a promotion, hiring help, or attracting clients as an independent consultant.

You may not feel the need to build relationships when you have a long-time relationship with your present employer, but to do so is dangerous to your career. I’ve observed conditions change radically for well-respected engineers when employers review their budgets and decide that an engineer is suddenly deemed too expensive, or they decide to outsource. As a consultant, what if your client decides to cut you in favor a newer, less-expensive engineer?

Ask yourself a few questions:

Is the management team you answer to aware of all of your station improvement initiatives?

Do you know what your colleagues in sales or news do when they are away from the station?

Are you attending SBE meetings to network with your colleagues?

When you do attend an SBE meeting, do you make it a point to introduce yourself with a smile and ask questions of a previously unfamiliar attendee?

Do you volunteer as a leader for your local SBE chapter, scout troop, or as a mentor for a young person learning your trade?

Do you spend uninterrupted, quality time with your key vendors, sharing information about your goals so that they can keep you in mind when another client needs technical help?

Are you spending time with friends and family away from technology?

I recommend you push away from your big, comfy computer desk chair and get out a bit. Break through your comfort zone and over time–trust me–you will reap great benefits.

Gary Stigall, CPBE

SBE Board Member

Gary’s views do not reflect those of the SBE, or its Board of Directors.

As I plan the webinars and courses SBE would like to offer in the coming year, I thought what better way to find out what our members would like to know more about than to ask them!

Next year we are planning to release a systems integration course, an advanced course on computer networking, several webinars on IP networking, and a webinar on FCC enforcement actions. Comment on this post to let us know what else you would like offered in the way of a webinar, online course, or live seminar. You can leave your comment by clicking on the bubble to the right of the title.

Paul Kempter, CPBE and Blake Hawkins, CPBE of SBE Chapter 39 volunteer during the Republican National Convention. The 2012 convention was held August 27-30 in Tampa, Fla.

By: John Collinson, CPBE, CBNT, 8-VSB, AMD and Paul Kempter, CPBE

Tampa Bay Chapter 39 served an important function as the City of Tampa hosted the Republican National Convention August 27-30 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Under the leadership of nationally known engineers Louis Libin, (member of Chapter 15) and Howard Fine (member of Chapter 47), eight Tampa area broadcast engineers teamed up to register and tag hundreds of wireless devices coming into the Tampa Bay Times Forum where the convention was held. Paul Kempter of Chapter 39 chaired the Enforcement Committee, which included handling logistics for all the other local coordinators before and throughout the entire convention. FCC personnel from Washington, Michigan and the local Tampa office were also involved. This venue had four major entrances that had to be covered simultaneously, and eight floors to search for non-coordinated equipment.

The major networks also sent RF personnel to oversee their own operations, including Ray Benedict, CPBE a member of SBE Chapter 37.

Approximately 2000 requests were received for 140 available wireless mike frequencies; 1400 requests were granted thanks to a 23 page Special Temporary Authority granted by the FCC. Those with coordinated frequencies were cleared to use them and tagged appropriately. The vast majority (over 800) who did not have allocations were tagged for identification and carefully instructed not to use their equipment. NBC gave the team dozens of mic cables to loan to those not prepared to turn off wireless. Some crews arrived with equipment on frequencies in the U.S. cellular bands and one tried to use a local sheriff’s office two-way frequency; not a wise idea!

As a result of these efforts only one incident of any consequence occurred and only on one night. On the intense closing night there were no major issues at all. Without all the preparatory efforts there is no doubt chaos would have ensued with hundreds of wireless transmitters inside one hall.

Sending our best to SBE Board Member Scott Mason CPBE, CBNT and Gene “Bean” Baxter of the “Kevin and Bean” morning show on KROQ. Bean will be donating a kidney to Mason, his long time friend. Read more from Radio Ink here.